Murder of Bobby Kent
Bobby Kent (May 12, 1973 – July 14, 1993) was an American man who was murdered by seven people, including his best friend, Martin Joseph "Marty" Puccio, Jr. (born March 21, 1973) in Weston, Florida. Events prior to murder Bobby Kent, the son of Iranian immigrants Fred and Farah Kent (née Khayam),Schutze, , 9780380723331, p. 31. "Fred and Farah Kent (originally Khayam) had come to America and Florida in search of freedom and economic opportunity. Educated people, they did well quickly. Fred put himself through the rigorous training and licensing procedure ..." attended South Broward High School in Hollywood, Florida.Schutze, , p. 36. "Bobby Kent was something of a figure in the hallways of South Broward High School." According to Tim Donnelly, who prosecuted all the conspirators for this murder, one attorney described Kent as "very Eddie Haskell-like. Adults saw him one way (polite and charming) while the kids saw him in a completely different way."From: "Payback For A Bully." American Justice. December 9, 1999. The quote occurs around 19:01. Marty Puccio is an Italian-American, and was raised Roman Catholic.Schutze, , p. 24. "She had determined ... that he came from a good Italian Catholic family." Kent and Puccio had known each other since third grade, had lived on the same block in Hollywood in Broward County since that time, and were good friends as adults. Bad blood, however, existed between the two. Puccio felt "ill-will and hatred" towards Kent because he would bully and pummel Puccio."Martin PUCCIO, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee." Supreme Court of Florida. November 20, 1997. Both sets of parents were wary of the friendship as well. Puccio's parents, Martin Sr. and Veronica, were cautious because Marty often returned from being with Kent with bruises or bleeding. Fred Kent thought of Puccio as a wayward slacker who had no future (Puccio was a high school dropout) and felt the friendship with his son would destroy the future he was helping him build. Frequent gym goers, both boys were rumored to use steroids, which in Kent's case, according to testimonial accounts, significantly contributed to his erratic, aggressive behavior. Kent and Puccio had experimented with making homosexual porn movies, hoping to distribute them to local shops. Neither Kent nor Puccio actually participated in these movies, but, rather, allegedly directed them and coaxed a Florida man in his 40s to perform on camera. Kent tried to peddle a movie, titled Rough Boys, to porn shops across South Florida. None took him up on the offer, due to the poor audio and video quality as well as the lack of any sexual activities in the film beyond the man dancing nude and playing with a dildo.Schutze, Jim. Bully. HarperCollinsPublishers. 1997. pp. 52–58, 61–62, 77, 104. References Category:Bullying Category:Murder committed by minors Category:Broward County, Florida Category:Deaths by stabbing in Florida Category:Deaths by beating in the United States Category:Place of birth missing Category:Deaths by person in the United States Category:1993 murders in the United States Category:1993 in Florida Category:Murder in Florida Category:July 1993 events Category:Crime in Florida Category:1973 births Category:1993 deaths Category:American murder victims